EC approves EUR 876 mln for “easy part” of Sibiu-Pitesti motorway

04 September 2020

The European Commission (EC) has approved an investment worth EUR 875.5 mln from the Cohesion Fund for building the first stage of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway in Romania.

This will be the first motorway crossing the Carpathian Mountains, enabling unhindered connectivity in Romania on the Rhine-Danube corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

Still, the first stage of the project, stretching over three segments with a total length of 54 km of the total of 112 km, deals with the easiest part of the project, not actually crossing the Carpathian Mountains.

The contracts for the two sections that stretch across the mountains haven't been auctioned yet, but the state road company CNAIR expressed hopes to see them on the public auction platform by the end of this year. CNAIR head Mariana Ionita said that the company would hopefully have the contracts for the design and execution of these sections signed next year. However, this seems an optimistic forecast considering that the signing of the contract for the Pitesti-Curtea de Arges section (with Astaldi) took three years and a half after the auction.

The Sibiu-Pitesti highway is expected to be operational as of 2026, according to European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira. However, the deadline seems more appropriate for the first stage. For comparison, the Ploiesti-Brasov motorway project is (officially) estimated to be ready within nine years.

In that case, CNAIR decided that the feasibility study has to be remade, but the outdated feasibility studies in the case of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway (the difficult sections) will generate delays one way or another as well. There is a contract underway (with European Investment Bank - Passa) for reviewing the technical documentation for these difficult sections, CNAIR head said in July. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Pexels.com)

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EC approves EUR 876 mln for “easy part” of Sibiu-Pitesti motorway

04 September 2020

The European Commission (EC) has approved an investment worth EUR 875.5 mln from the Cohesion Fund for building the first stage of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway in Romania.

This will be the first motorway crossing the Carpathian Mountains, enabling unhindered connectivity in Romania on the Rhine-Danube corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

Still, the first stage of the project, stretching over three segments with a total length of 54 km of the total of 112 km, deals with the easiest part of the project, not actually crossing the Carpathian Mountains.

The contracts for the two sections that stretch across the mountains haven't been auctioned yet, but the state road company CNAIR expressed hopes to see them on the public auction platform by the end of this year. CNAIR head Mariana Ionita said that the company would hopefully have the contracts for the design and execution of these sections signed next year. However, this seems an optimistic forecast considering that the signing of the contract for the Pitesti-Curtea de Arges section (with Astaldi) took three years and a half after the auction.

The Sibiu-Pitesti highway is expected to be operational as of 2026, according to European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira. However, the deadline seems more appropriate for the first stage. For comparison, the Ploiesti-Brasov motorway project is (officially) estimated to be ready within nine years.

In that case, CNAIR decided that the feasibility study has to be remade, but the outdated feasibility studies in the case of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway (the difficult sections) will generate delays one way or another as well. There is a contract underway (with European Investment Bank - Passa) for reviewing the technical documentation for these difficult sections, CNAIR head said in July. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Pexels.com)

Normal
 

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